Category Archives: Precure

Episode 20 of Go! Princess Precure has recently aired, and the story is starting to unfold. In Episode 18, we met the author of the book that inspired Haruka-chan’s dream of becoming a princess. The protagonist of this book was the Princess of Flowers, who was loved by everyone. One day, a bird became jealous of her popularity and betrayed her to an evil magic user who held her prisoner. During her time of captivity, the princess never became angry or bitter, but instead remained sweet and kind. The bird regretted betraying the princess and helped her get free. The bird apologized to the princess, who forgave the bird, and they all became good friends.

Not only did this story inspire Haruka-chan’s dream, but it also inspired the dream of her roommate, Yui-chan, who wants to become an author of children’s books. We find out that the author of the story was inspired to create a character based on who she wanted her daughter to grow up to be.

Aside from the Cure Princesses, there is another Princess on the side of evil, Princess Twilight. We discover, at the end of episode 20, that Princess Twilight is likely Princess Towa, the younger sister of Prince Kanata. There was a time when she shared the same dream as the Princess Precure, to become a Grand Princess. In order to become a Grand Princess, the girls must become 強い tsuyosi (“strong”), 優しい yasashii (“gentle”), and 美しい utsukushii (“beautiful”).

We discover that Princess Towa had been missing for some time, and that without her the Hope Kingdom became unable to resist Dyspear. When Prince Kanata and the Princess Precure find her in episode 20, she does not recognize Prince Kanata and she believes herself to be the daughter of Dyspear.

As Princess Twilight, she sees herself as the 唯一無二 yuiitsumuni (“one and only”) Princess and she describes herself as 気高い, kedakai (“noble”), 尊い toutoi (“precious, valuable”), and 麗しい uruwashii (“beautiful”). It is interesting because these traits do not seem bad in and of themselves. Indeed, my Japanese is not at the level yet where I can understand the difference in meaning or nuance between the two words for beautiful, 美しい utsukushii and 麗しい uruwashii, except that 美しい utsukushii is a much more common word, from what I can tell. I learned 美しい utsukushii quite early on my studies, and hear and read it all of the time. I think that I learned 麗しい uruwashii from this series, and I do not know if I have seen it anywhere else as of yet.

Yet, judging from the other two ideals, that may very well be the important difference in the two words for beautiful. Strength and gentleness are used to support other people. Being noble and precious can be forms of setting oneself apart from others. Another clue is that she refers to herself as the “one and only” Princess.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. It is highly likely that Princess Twilight will return to her true self as Princess Towa. Aside from things of this nature being common in Precure, her apparent theme seems to be that of the butterfly, the symbol of transformation. It will also be interesting to discover the true nature of Dyspear. Is she truly Princess Towa’s mother and the Queen of Hope Kingdom under a spell of a larger force of Evil?

There are more star images and references than you can possibly shake one stick at. You would need to go to the forest and pick up several spares. Mere air friction would wear out one stick with all the shaking long before you got to the end of the anime.

Ahem. I think I am exaggerating again, aren’t I? But there are a bigly lot of such references.

Starting with the Precure name itself: “Twinkle” (what song does everyone associate that with?)

Her civilian name is 天ノ川きらら Amanogawa Kirara. The Japanese version of Twinkle Twinkle LittleStar is Kira Kira Boshi.

Amanogawa literally means “River of Heaven” but the term actually means the Milky Way galaxy. Stars appear everywhere. From her costume to starry sky backgrounds, shooting stars and the 星空 (Starry Sky) fashion show in which she is taking part.

What do stars signify? They can signify aspiration (follow your star). They can signify success (stardom). More traditionally they signify the Harmony of Heaven, the Music of the Spheres.

All these meanings are very important here.

As you know, the theme of the show – its fundamental conflict – is dreams vs despair. The villains attempt to imprison people’s dreams (dreams here in the sense of hopes and ambitions).

The monsters are called ゼツボーグzetsubougu (katakana extender dash standing for the う). This is an interesting portmanteau name. 絶望 zetsubou means despair and 防具 bougu means armor, especially traditional samurai armor of the kind that is still used in modified form in kendo. So the name means something like armored despair.

These armored despair monsters are made from people’s imprisoned dreams, and when they are purified they return to their natural state, uttering the word “dreaming” (in katakana English).

Cure Twinkle is a dream‐chaser par excellence. Her every waking moment is devoted to her pursuit of modelling stardom. She thinks of nothing but her dream.

So it might seem that she is the perfect heroine for this series. But the truth is that she is far from perfect. She is rude. She is out of harmony. She is so rude that Haruka‐chan and the other girls are deeply shocked at her offhand impoliteness to the revered seito kaichou.

Probably the three strongest Precure values are Ganbari (always doing your best), Love, and Harmony. Amanogawa Kirara is a ganbariyasan to the core, but she is letting that ganbari become the enemy of Love and Harmony.

This fault is so fundamental that it leads her to reject her destiny as a Precure.

Cure Twinkle is a shining star, but she is not yet a good star. Because stars do not only shine. The other very important thing about stars, as everyone familiar with traditional thought (and that includes Japanese‐educated people) is aware, is that they travel always in their appointed courses, dancing to the eternal Music of the Spheres.

And it is no accident that dance is a sub‐theme of this show.

The simple theme of the show is that dreams and ambitions are good and despair is bad. But the best Precure is never that simple. Dreams and ambitions also have dangers. They should be pursued tirelessly, but they should also be pursued with love and harmony.

I have just watched the second episode of Go! Princess Precure. I have to say at the very first episode, it was love at first sight, and after the second episode, I am truly enamored with this series. As a part of my Japanese studies, I made myself get through Happiness Charge Precure, and I worried whether there would ever be a good Precure again. (I actually found myself bored through the Happiness Charge finale, and I could not wait until it was over). I am overjoyed that Go! Princess Precure seems to be the Precure that I know and love!

What is not to love….the clothes, the music, the dancing, the aisatsu* (“gokigenyou”), the Princess theme, the transformation scenes….even without deep meaning, I would be in love with this Precure!

Yet, to top it off, Go! Princess Precure does seem to have a deeper meaning, which was set forth by the second episode. Interestingly enough, this apparent meaning is quite directly related to the very purpose of this blog.

In the very first scene, we see Haruka-chan (who will be the Pink Precure of this series) being ridiculed for her dream of becoming a Princess. This blog was written for girls such as her, who dream of beauty and innocence, but who are ridiculed by the Western world. In the next scene, she meets Kanata-sama, who tells her never to give up on her dream.

As Cure Dolly has previously written, the topic of this series was clearly set forth in the first episode…dreams and despair. This is not a new topic for Precure. Dreams and despair were previously addressed in Yes! Precure 5. Interestingly enough, the Blue Precure of Go! Princess Precure, Cure Mermaid, is similar in type and temperament to the Blue Precure of Yes! Precure 5, Cure Aqua. While the Pink Precure always represents the ganbari (doing one’s best, never giving up) of her particular sentai, the Blue (or White) Precure always represents its kangae (thinking and careful consideration). In some groups, this Cure is stronger than others, but for the two centered on dreams, the Blue Precure is particularly strong and solid (not to mention kakkoii), the seitokaichou (Student Council President) and an ojousama (upper class daughter). Like Cure Aqua, Cure Mermaid is also practical and down to earth, in contrast to Smile Precure’s Cure Beauty, who is intelligent, but not always very practical (she thinks the summit of Mount Fuji would make a fine Secret Base).

In Precure, the side of Evil always turns either precious objects or people into monsters. With the exception of Futari wa Precure, it is either precious objects or people, not both. In Go! Princess Precure, the Evil side again uses people. One of the difficulties with Happiness Charge Precure is that it was very unclear as to how the Evil Side was able to corrupt people and turn them into Saiaku. At one point, I believe that Cure Fortune made a reference to a fault or a failure on the part of the victim, but what that fault or failure was was never clear. From all appearances, the Evil Side could turn a person into a Saiaku willy-nilly, whenever it wanted to. In contrast, in the sounder Precure, there was a clear “hook” for the Evil Side to use. In Heartcatch Precure, the victim’s Heart Flower had withered, and in DokiDoki Precure, a seed of Selfishness had already begun to sprout.

In Go! Princess Precure, the Evil Side uses the victim’s dream. This is quite interesting really, as dreaming in and of itself does not seem to be a fault. Yet, Evil can twist even the purest of our traits to its own ends, as we saw in DokiDoki Precure. When our dreams become locked or thwarted, they can become the source of deep despair, leading us to become cynical and bitter, turning us into Zetsubou (Hopelessnesses). While all of this makes sense to me in my heart, I am afraid it would take someone wiser and more Enlightened than me to explain it in words.

Like Suite Precure, in this series the theme is directly related to its topic. In Suite Precure, the theme was music, and it was an exploration of wa (the deeper harmony of the Spheres, society, and human relations) and fuwa (disharmony, chaos, and discord). In Princess Precure, the theme of the Princess is directly related to Dreams and Despair. In fairy tales and in metaphysics, the Princess represents the Axial Being, or the one with the power to choose between Good and Evil. There have been several Precures (and fairies) who were Princesses, and each one of them has been central to the battle between Good and Evil on a very personal level. Even in Happiness Charge Precure, it was Cure Princess that opened the box, Axial, and released the Evil that was rampaging the Blue Sky Kingdom and the Earth. (With all of its problems, Happiness Charge Precure was not completely devoid of metaphysical wisdom).

In the second episode, we learn that the girls must become true Princesses in order to restore Hope Kingdom. They are also the ones with the power to unlock the dreams of the victims. How do they become true Princesses? They must grow in tsuyosa (strength), yasashisa (gentleness/kindness), and utsukushisa (beauty).** They must work towards good and beauty and work to become their best selves. By doing this, they can restore the Hope Kingdom and unlock people’s dreams. How perfect for us here at Musume Senshi!

Of course, it is still quite early to see if Go! Princess Precure will be another one of the great Precure, but it is off to a very promising start, I think.

Tanoshimi shimasu (I am looking forward to it).

________________

*the closest English translation for aisatsu is “greetings,” but aisatsu are the proper set phrases one says at the proper time.

**on a personal note, it seems rather magical that these are the names of two of us here, myself, Cure Yasashiku, and Cure Utsukushiku.

The Triumphant Return of Precure?

Will Go! Princess Precure return the series to its astonishingly magnificent form? All of us here are really, really excited about the new Precure series.

We never made much secret of the fact that we weren’t too keen on Happiness Charge Precure. After a run of four of the most entertaining, warm‐hearted and metaphysically profound Magical Girl anime series ever made (Heartcatch to Doki Doki Precure), Happiness Charge dropped the ball.

It was nice enough. If it wasn’t being compared to such pure gold as the Great Four, we’d probably have quite liked it as a bit of lightweight entertainment. People who think that lightweight entertainment is all that Precure ever was did enjoy it, I believe. But Precure is a lot more than that.

Does Go! Princess Precure return the series to form? Might we soon be speaking of the Great Five instead of the Great Four? It’s a little early to say, but having seen the first episode (thank Meruhenland the Japanese subtitles came out immediately), the prognosis is pretty promising.

My first impression of Happiness Charge was chaos. I hoped it would improve over time and honestly I made several attempts to like it. But it remained chaotic and without real direction.

The first impression of Go! Princess Precure is one of order. In fact it is more immediately Ordered than any previous Precure, being set in a school a tiny bit reminiscent of Maria Sama ga MIteru. The standard aisatsu (greeting) is even gokigenyou, as in Marimite.

The moral lines are clear from the start. Hope vs Despair. After hearing the villain’s set‐piece on despair, Cure Flora gives a speech on the importance of hope and dreams. As we have discussed elsewhere, the Magical Girl genre is traditionally philosophical. The battles themselves are clashes of philosophy, true against false, and the great moments are heralded by speeches setting out the two sides. It is the superiority of the philosophy of good that leads to its victory.

The great theme of the show is dreams. Japanese 夢 yume, just like English “dream”, has three meanings.

1. The lunary visions we see while sleeping.

2. Something wonderful (“it was like a dream”).

3. A hope, wish or aspiration.

That these three are linked with the head‐meaning of a sleep‐vision is, I believe, fundamental to our human experience, which is why the three meanings are found linked across language families.

Vedic philosophy teaches that there are three states of being: the waking state, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. These are not just human states but cosmic actualities.

The waking state, of course, is what people are prone to think of as “reality”.

Dreams can be good or bad, but when used figuratively in human idioms the meaning is almost uniformly good. It is conceived, while not necessarily better than the waking state, as representing the best that the waking state can be. A very good waking experience is “like a dream”. A “dream” (in the sense of aspiration) is something one fervently wishes to achieve and make “real” (i.e., bring into the waking world).

Bad things also inhabit the dream‐world, but bad dreams tend to have a name of their own, other than just “dream”. English “nightmare”, Japanese akumu. As if the real dream world is the good one and the bad one some kind of aberration.

And naturally in this series that aberration is represented by the villains, while the Precure protect True Dream. How deep this will go is not yet clear, but already the ground is laid for something much deeper than Go! Princess Precure‘s precuredecessor (sorry!)

There are several very significant similarities in Go! Princess Precure to Heartcatch Precure, the first of the Great Four.

The zetsubou (despair) monsters are created by looking into a person’s heart and finding her dream and attempting to “close” it, just as Heartcatch they were made by finding her nayami (worry, unhappiness) inside her heart.

Doing the Cure Blossom Jump

Importantly, this wasn’t just a theme. It was closely bound up with what made the series deeper than the ones that had gone before it.

The Precure henshin (transformation) uses perfume, as in Heartcatch, and Cure Flora’s very first experience of her new found power is jumping unbelievably high and getting (not surprisingly) scared by the height. This is a clear and direct reference to Cure Blossom’s first experience of her power in Heartcatch. It seems like a signal that we are moving back to the era that Heartcatch initiated.

If we are, I shall be so delighted to have my weekly serving of Truth, fun and pure magic back!

Doki doki!

Go! Princess Precure Language notes:

Some of the names in Go! Princess Precure are interesting and I think do not come across in English.

In the first scene the heroine Haruka meets the Prince‐to‐her‐Princess, Kanata. Haruka means “far” while Kanata means “beyond”, or “the distance”. The two words are frequently found together as a pair in the expression harukakanata (far in the distance). A couple from far, far away?

The first villain is クローズ Kuroーzu. The name is katakana for English “close”, and his phrase for transforming a person’s dream into a monster is クローズ ユア ドリーム！”Close your dream” (in katakana‐ized English). However, 黒 kuro also means “black” and this is certainly an intentional reference to the darkness of the character.

I have to admit that I am a bit disappointed with Happiness Charge Precure. I have just finished episode 7. I am using the series as part of my Japanese studies, which means that I need to take a lot more time with each episode than I otherwise might. I really had high hopes for the series, particularly as the last four series, Heartcatch, Suite, Smile, and DokiDoki just kept getting better and better!

On the other hand, I think that this series might be instructive for our readers to understand how we analyze media here at Musume Senshi. We have been so enthusiastic in our praise of Precure, it might be helpful to discuss one of the series that we are not as impressed by in order to show our readers what we are looking for in media. In that spirit, below is my analysis of Happiness Charge Precure after watching the first seven episodes:

Metaphysical “Rightness”

Before I begin this section, please note, that if we were discussing any Western media, this question would not even arise. Here at Senshi, we can not recommend any Western media produced later than the 1960’s, except perhaps some of the movies produced by Disney. Sadly, we can not even recommend the more recent Disney movies, which have slid into the cynicism of the post-Modern West. Yet, even the best Western shows produced prior to the 1960’s are still rationalist in their outlook, and therefore, do not have much in the way of richness of metaphysical truth. So, the fact that I can even discuss whether Happiness Charge Precure is metaphysically “right” speaks to the high quality of the larger series.

After watching episode 7, I admit I am not sure how this series will fare. So far, I do not really see where the series is going with respect to metaphysical truth. In contrast, in the four previous series, the metaphysical themes were present from the very beginning. Cure Dolly discusses this at length in her article, Happiness Charge Precure Review – is it as good as the others.

It is possible that the theme will be develop over time, and that it is more actually more subtle than the previous seasons. As of episode 7, it seems like the story may be developing into the traditional tale of the Wagamama (“selfish, spoiled”) Princess, which could be quite deep and could explain the surface visual attractiveness of the Side of Evil.

Going outside in pajamas is DAME!

Innocence

For the most part, this series still promotes innocence, I think, and values such as friendship and harmony. On the other hand, there are a few trouble spots, which may or may not be minor depending on how the series develops. The theme of clothing and of the importance of clothing is of particular interest to us here at Senshi. Hime-chan’s instruction of Megumi-chan regarding clothing is quite important. Some examples have been Hime-chan’s statement in episode 3 that wearing pajamas outside was “dame.” I found that particularly good and important as, where I live, I often see people wearing clothing that looks like pajamas. I also liked when Hime-chan explained to Megumi-chan that wearing a jersey to the party made the party less special in episode 7.

Of greater interest are the “magic clothes” that transform the girls into particular Functions, such as Policemaid or Nurse. Aside from being a lot of fun, this really illustrates the importance of dress and clothing. See The Philosophy of Dress.

At the same time, there are some dubious clothing choices even with the “magic clothes.” In all of the various Precure series, the clothing of the girls has been one of the weakest elements in the series. While, here on Senshi, we have overlooked this flaw because of the overall goodness of the show, this weakness becomes a larger problem when clothing is one of the main themes of the series.

A step up from pajamas….I suppose…

Poisonous Elements

Another important part of any media analysis on Senshi is the determination of whether there are any poisonous elements to be cautious of or to be avoided completely. So far, in the case of Happiness Charge Precure, there is nothing so poisonous as to avoid watching the show entirely, but, I think that there are a few points to be careful of.

The biggest concern in this direction is the visual attractiveness of the Phantom Empire and the effects of the Saiaku. There could be a good reason for this, which we may discover later, but, I think that this is still quite tricky. In all of the previous series I have seen Good and Evil are quite clear. Evil LOOKS like Evil! This is very important. Here on Senshi, we do not believe in “moral ambiguity.” Good is Good, and Evil is Evil. Axial Beings may experience difficult temptations…but Good and Evil is clear. See DokiDoki Finale: Love is Not a Crime and DokiDoki Precure 46: The Fundamental Questions of Existence. It is possible that the visual attractiveness of Evil in Happiness Charge Precure is truly an illusion, and that its ugliness will be revealed later, but this is a real concern.

Another concern is one of Cure Lovely’s attacks, which is a dance using deracinated clothing and music. While all of the Precure series have had some questionable clothing and music choices, it becomes a much more serious matter when they are part of a purification attack against Evil. Also, even though I very much LOVE Cure Princess’ Macadamia Hulu Dance, where the Evil Minions are brought into harmony and dance along, generally when Evil is brought into harmony, it becomes Good. In this case, the harmony is a mere distraction to help defeat the Evil Minions with another attack.

Despite these criticisms, Happiness Charge is still a fun show, and as of yet, the problems are not so great as to suggest that the show be avoided. On the other hand, it seemed good and important to explain what we look for in the media we suggest and recommend here on Musume Senshi.

As the reader may recall, in episode 46 of DokiDoki Precure, we discover how the King of Trump Kingdom became King Selfish, or King Jikochou. He unleashed a Primordial Evil when he took the Sacred Crown sealing it to save his daughter’s life. See DokiDoki Precure 46: The Fundamental Questions of Existence.

Even as it was happening, one can not help but feel for the King. Of course, it was wrong to unleash the Primordial Evil, but faced with the prospect of the death of his daughter, it seems like a rather difficult and harsh choice. As the Precure worked to free the King’s soul, Cure Heart gave a speech about the importance of family love, and how love for one’s own family was not selfishness. After that speech, King Jikochou and Cure Sword have the following dialogue:

“King Jikochou: Family love. Ha! Don’t make me laugh. You really think the citizens of Trump Kingdom will forgive me after I wrecked their Kingdom to save my daughter?

Cure Sword: Love is not a crime. You’re the one at fault here for using their love.”

This seems to be a bit of a riddle. Was not the King’s love for his daughter the reason that he unleashed Evil upon his own Kingdom?

I think that the answer to this riddle can be found in episode 47. Regina-san, who was born from the corrupted part of Princess Marie Ange’s heart, led the Precure in explaining the answer.

After receiving love from Cure Heart, Regina-san joins the fight with the Precure against King Jikochou. King Jikochou asks her why she has turned and is now fighting against him. Regina-san answers:

“Love had been in my heart from the beginning, Papa. Because I love you, Papa. But…But…You know…I love Mana, too. As much as you, Papa. So much that I can’t choose between you! I love Mana!”

The minions from the Selfish Kingdom wonder if this is selfishness on Regina-san’s part. Regina-san questioned whether her feelings were wrong. The Precure answered her as follows:

Cure Sword: “Me too. I only saw the Princess before, but now everyone here is precious to me.”

King Jikochou answered: “Silence! Regina! You only need to look at me!”

To which, Cure Diamond replied: “I understand how you feel. Because I remember having those same feelings. But compared to hogging the person you love all to yourself, to have the person you love help you to love yourself…Just like that, the ring of love expands. Isn’t that kind of better?”

After this, Cure Ace was able to talk to her father as well: “Please stop. What connects us all is love. My fate as a warrior of love was not to defeat you, but love you! I’ve finally realized. And now I can do it. Do you know why? Because you’re still my father!

At this point, the King saw his daughter in Cure Ace and began to become free of the Evil that had overtaken him. It was his love for his daughter that saved him.

Why is this when the love for his daughter opened the door to Evil?

The answer to this is simple. It was NOT the King’s love for his daughter that opened the door to Evil. If you recall, in episode 46, the King said,

“If only Ange is saved, what happens to the world doesn’t matter!”

The answer is that he lost his love for the world. He was told that the only way to save his daughter was to unleash Evil. Was this true? Maybe, but maybe not. Evil is known for its trickery. One of the ways Evil tricks us is by presenting us with false dilemmas. The options in front of us seem to become limited, and we believe that we have no other choice but to follow the course of Evil. In this case, the sickness that had overtaken the Princess seemed to have been from the Seed of the Evil itself, so it would seem likely that there would have been another way to save her.

But even if we are to take at face value that the King had no other choice, it was not love that prompted him to unleash the Evil. When he tried to resist the Evil, he said,

“Ange won’t be happy if I bring forth Darkness to save her.”

Indeed, by opening the door to Evil, he not only brought forth the destruction of his own Kingdom, but he set the stage for his daughter to rip her own heart in two in torment.

It was not love for his daughter that caused him to unleash Evil, but Selfishness. He was not doing what was best for his daughter. He knew his daughter did not want to live at the expense of his Kingdom. He did not want to experience the grief of possibly losing his daughter. That is not the same thing as love.

This is a bit tricky to see, because if the King did not love his daughter, he would not suffer grief at her loss. Yet, love sometimes means to embrace suffering. We see this in the pain that Regina-san suffers in her heart when she started to feel love throughout the series. In his fear of feeling grief, the King lost his love for his Kingdom AND paradoxically enough, he lost his love for his daughter as well. As he said before he gave in to Evil, “Ange’s death is the same as the end of the world.” When he gave in to Evil, he lost sight of everyone else other than himself. That is not love, but selfishness.

Throughout this series, DokiDoki Precure has explored many complicated matters surrounding things that look like love, but are not love. Yet, in the end, we always find that these complexities are not really about love itself, but are really selfishness disguising itself as love. As Cure Sword eloquently pointed out, love is not a crime. Love is never a crime, and love is always the answer. No matter how complicated the situation seems to be, it can always be resolved with love! In the words of feminine Scripture, “Of all things, love is the simplest.” I think that this is the overarching message of DokiDoki Precure.

With this article, I believe that my coverage of DokiDoki Precure is complete! (Hee…although you never know, other authors may still have things to say about it!) It really was quite a series, wasn’t it? Thank you for following my articles and the articles of the other Senshi.

Doki Doki Precure was quite an exciting series, and I thought that the finale was breathtaking. For me, the scariest moment was when the Primordial Selfish was able to blacken and steal the Psyche of Cure Heart…at least momentarily. Cure Heart had been so stalwart throughout the series, often being compared to the Happy Prince. It was quite a surprise that the Primordial Selfish was able to corrupt even her.

One of the things that is so impressive about Precure is the way that metaphysical themes are woven deeply into the story, and how their finales weave these themes together. I have read some reviews of DokiDoki Precure by Western commentators, which complained that the stories of the individual characters seemed to be disjointed and disconnected. What these commentators failed to understand is that this story is not character driven, but is a story in the truest sense of the word, a tale that illustrates spiritual and metaphysical realities. The individual characters represent ideas and themes.

The primary theme of Doki Doki Precure is Love and Selfishness. Throughout the series, we are taught that, as Axial Beings, we have the choice between Love and Selfishness. This theme was manifest at the very beginning of the series and has been present throughout. See The Philosophy of Doki Doki Precure: An Overview.

Throughout the series, we were shown how the choice between Love and Selfishness is a continuous one, with day to day choices having broad ramifications to the world and to the battle between good and evil. Here at Senshi, we have discussed this at length.

I have seen many, but not all, of the Precure series all the way through their finales, and there is an interesting difference in DokiDoki Precure. In every other finale I have seen, the world was destroyed by Evil before it was rescued. Yet, in Doki Doki Precure, the world is in danger, but it was not destroyed! Why is that?

We are told the answer to this in episode 47. Trump Kingdom was destroyed because the citizens themselves chose Selfishness when they were in danger, and they became Selfishnesses themselves. Yet, the citizens of this world did not. People started to become selfish, but then they chose to help one another and show love for each other instead. The world was not destroyed! In episode 48, the world cheers the Precure on, shouting “Precure Ganbare!” The Precure, Regina-san, and Ai-chan were able to save the King of Trump Kingdom, and the world was apparently saved from Darkness and Selfishness.

There was quite a surprise at the end of episode 48, though. Bel-san, one of the minions of the Selfish Kingdom, made the choice to take into his own body the small bit of Darkness that remained after the King of Trump Kingdom was saved. When Bel-san made that choice, he awakened the Primordial Selfishness. This Selfishness fully enveloped him, which set the stage for a surprise episode 49.

Cure Heart’s Psyche beginning to return

It was during this battle that Cure Heart’s Psyche was taken. A black spot formed, which the Primordial Selfishness caused to grow. Cure Heart tried to resist, but she was unable to. Then her Psyche was stolen. It followed the same pattern as every other time a Psyche was used to create a Selfishness. That was not the end of the story, however. Just when we thought all would be lost, Cure Heart’s Psyche was restored, and she returned to fight back even stronger than before. She was able to receive strength from the other Cures and the power of the Sacred Treasures to transform into Parthenon Mode, and she defeated the Primordial Selfishness.

Why did all of this happen? Why was Cure Heart overtaken, and why was she restored?

As the Primordial Selfishness was being defeated, he had the following dialogue with Cure Heart:

“Primordial Selfnessness (“PS”): As long as humans possess selfish, egotistical hearts, I will always return. Always, I tell you.

Cure Heart (“CH”): I know. Even I have a selfish heart.

PS: What?

CH: I have had times where I have been jealous or just wanted to run away. But I think that the pain and struggling that come with it can make people stronger. And even if I lose sight of my love, I have my friends! As long as I have friends by my side, I’ll always stand up and fight back!”

After this exchange, the Primordial Selfishness was defeated, and many fluttering hearts were returned to their places. This world and the Trump Kingdom were fully restored.

Yes, each and every one of us has a selfish heart that can be corrupted. That is a part of our nature. In Filianic thealogy, each of us as a False Self. While that is true, we also have the choice to resist our False Selves, or our selfish hearts, and choose love. So long as we choose Love, Selfishness will always be defeated!

Unless you have been living in the so-called “real world” for the past year you are probably aware that we at Musume Senshi are rather fond of Precure.

Day-clothes or Detective-wear — Kawaii is IMPORTANT

Our stalwart staff (transformational staff of henshin, of course) have penned (gosh I hate that word “penned” – why did I use it?) lots of articles about the different Precure series.

So naturally we were excited at the advent of a new series. Particularly as the series seem to have been getting better and better as they go on, culminating (so far) in the wonderful Doki Doki. As you will also know, we view these series from a point of view that appears to be entirely lost on most Western fans – their underlying philosophy, which is at once very Japanese and also akin to the traditional metaphysical ways of thought that are largely lost to the West If you aren’t familiar with our approach, try a sample here.

So how does Happiness Charge stack up so far? Please be aware that I am just giving my Dolly impressions, but my first impressions are that it is a little lacking.

Please don’t misunderstand me. It is a fun anime and I love it so far, but compared to the openings of Smile, Doki Doki, Suite and Heartcatch it seems to lack the metaphysical depth that they had. In a way it feels like a bit of a regression to the earlier series. They were good, of course, but one of the miracles of this series is that as it has gone on it has seemed to grow more confident in presenting non-Westernized Japanese values and the traditional spiritual view of life. Since this is against the supposed tide of Japanese “modernization” (or post-modernization) it is particularly heartening.

To begin at the most fundamental point, there is the question of what are the Precure fighting for (and therefore against)? In the first Episode of Smile, speeches were made (and Magical Girl Anime has always been a speech-making art-form) outlining important themes. Wolfrun laid out the case against ganbari. Miyuki and Candy laid out the case for it. Later in the series, this theme is explored in considerable depth and subtlety.

In Heartcatch, the connection of the individual heart to the Universal Heart (the Buddha-heart if one wishes to put it in Buddhist terms) is stated from the beginning. In Suite the theme of harmony vs discord is made clear from the first episode – and remember that 和 wa, harmony is fundamental to Japanese thought – so much so that 和 wa is also used to mean “Japanese” in many contexts. It is also a fundamental concept in all traditional metaphysical thought – “the Music of the Spheres” whose harmony governs all things: celestial bodies, nature, and all aspects of human life.

We have the theme in Smile and Doki Doki of the Sacred Queen or Princess, representing pure goodness, who is imprisoned and must be re-awakened, together with the Pure Evil who is also imprisoned and whom the Dark Forces seek to awaken.

What about Happiness Charge? My most immediate concern is in the nature of evil. Rather than a fundamental evil we seem to have a trivial evil. It is not trivial in its effects – in fact, unlike the previous series, evil is taking over this world at an alarming pace. The sense of urgency is greater – but in this it seems closer to Western drama. It is the outward and material threat of the evil that is stressed rather than its fundamental philosophical wrongness.

The Minor Kingdom in Suite stood for discord against the Universal Harmony. The Desert Apostles in Heartcatch stood for the withering of the heart-tree – the universal good that is reflected in every human heart. The Jikochuu in Doki Doki stood for Jikochuu – self-centeredness (the precise meaning of 自己中 – jikochuu – self-center) of the kind mentioned in the Feminine Scriptures:

“When each spoke assays to be the center, the wheel cannot turn”

Such Jikochuu is the opposite of social 和 wa or harmony as well as of Buddhist compassion.

The evil of Happiness Charge seems essentially trivial. A spoiled queen who does not especially believe in selfishness as a principle but just happens to be personally selfish.

The trappings of evil are actually quite pretty. The queen’s palace is kawaii. The fate of the Blue Sky Kingdom does not appear (thus far) especially ugly, and the カビ kabi, “mold or mildew” with which this world is being infected is actually rather pretty.

There is a selfishness vs love/ganbari theme, and it is played out at this stage between Cure Princess and Cure Lovely. One immediately attractive aspect of the series is that Megumi, while unselfish and noble, wears modern casual clothes while Hime, while selfish and cowardly wears beautiful clothes. In a Western show the “moral” would be that if you mean well it doesn’t matter how you dress. Here it is clear that dressing beautifully is very important, and this is something Megumi has to learn (and wants to learn) from Hime.

There is actually a brief exchange of ideological speeches with the villain on the theme of selfishness in the first episode, when the yet-powerless Megumi stands up to Namakeruda:

自分の身を守るそれがかしこい生き方ですぞ。

Protecting yourself – that is the sensible way to live.

Megumi replies:

自分だけよければいいなんてわたしはイヤだ
みんなで幸せになる それが幸せ！

“So long as oneself is all right that’s fine” – I hate that (way of thinking). Everyone becoming happy – that is (true) happiness.

It is (of course) at this exact moment that she becomes a Precure.

“So long as oneself is all right that’s fine” – I HATE that

The prettiness of evil does seem very reminiscent of the Ball of Neglect and interestingly the current villain’s name is based on the same word used for the Ball. ナマケルダ Namekeruda is clearly based on 怠け nameke, “to slacken, idle or neglect one’s work”. While the Ball of Neglect is actually the 怠け玉 Namakedama or namake-sphere.

The Ball of Neglect represented a very subtle presentation of the fundamental philosophy of Precure, in which evil was presented in a highly attractive way that the girls had to see through. It presented a very old philosophical riddle that in the West has been posed as “Is it better to be Socrates unhappy or a pig happy?”

Perhaps Happiness Charge is moving in the direction of a depth of traditional thought even greater than the other recent series. However, taking the first two episodes overall, and while I love them as mere fun stories. I am not so far optimistic.

The finale to DokiDoki Precure just aired last Saturday. I was fortunate enough to have the experience of watching it while it was airing. I am a beginning student of Japanese, so I was not able to understand much while watching in Japanese except for what I could glean from the visuals. Still, it was quite exciting to watch while it was airing. It was particularly fun to see the Japanese commercials.

Luckily, the English subtitles came out rather quickly this week, so I did not have long to wait before I learned how this story would end.

There is a lot to discuss now that the series is complete, more than can be discussed in just one article. Here on Senshi, we have covered the ongoing series extensively, so it seems fit to explore some of the many topics of the series.

Princess Marie Ange, and her descendants, are central to the story that was told in Doki Doki Precure. Princesses in stories can represent Archetypal Maids, and I think that in this story, Princess Marie Ange represents humanity as a whole. In episode 46, we learn what happened to the Princess, and how she broke her heart in two as a result of the painful knowledge that her father had opened the door to Evil in order to save her life. I refer the reader back to Cure Tadashiku’s article, Doki Doki Precure 46: The Fundamental Questions of Existence.

Half of the Princess’ heart became Regina-san, who fell by her father. As we recall, her father was possessed by Evil and became King Selfish. The other half of her heart fell in the arms of a traditional grandmother and became Aguri-chan/Cure Ace. The Princess’ empty shell became the baby, Ai-chan.

In episode 46, we are told that Aguri-chan and Regina-san are the Light and Shadow sides of the Princess. Indeed the part of the Princess’ heart that had become Regina-san had become dark and corrupt. Yet, Regina-san was able to be purified.

The topic of Light and Shadow Selves, or True and False Selves, is a recurring theme in Precure. In Heartcatch Precure, Cure Moonlight’s Shadow Self or False Self is represented by Dark Precure. Cure Moonlight also had a father who had been corrupted by Evil, and her father created Dark Precure specifically to be her enemy. In Heartcatch Precure, to defeat Dark Precure, Cure Moonlight had to embrace her, and when she did, Dark Precure dissolved, and Cure Moonlight’s broken heartseed became whole.

Why did this not happen the same way in Doki Doki Precure?

I think that the reason for this is that Regina-san was not really the Princess’ False Self. When the Princess split her heart in two, she said that one half was the love she had for her father and the other half was the love to protect everyone’s smiles. She was under the mistaken belief that conflict between these halves was inevitable. Yet, before the King became corrupt, these two sides were united, and her whole heart was pure.

On the opening page of the Daughters of Shining Harmony, there is a discussion of love, or Amity. The article can be found here. This article explains that there are two types of Amity, Menamity and Mayamity. Menamity, or Little Amity, is the love that binds all people together, or “the love to protect everyone’s smile.” Mayamity, or Great Amity, is deep personal love which may exist between family and close friends. In the West, there is sometimes the mistaken notion that these types of love are in conflict with one another, and that deep personal love excludes a more general love for others.

This is exactly the lie that Bel-san told the Princess, that her love for her father, and the love that he had for her, was selfish, and that it excluded the love for their people. The King believed that lie when he sacrificed the peace and well-being of his Kingdom to save his daughter, and then the Princess believed that lie, which caused half of her own heart to become corrupt as well. She could not choose between Mayamity and Menamity, so she split her heart in two, believing that these parts of her heart would have to fight each other.

As the story progresses through the finale, we learn that the Princess was wrong. Her love for her father, embodied in Regina-san, and the love to protect everyone’s smiles, embodied in Aguri-chan, did not have to fight at all. Indeed, it was when they united that they were able to free their father from King Selfish, which also saved the world.

In the end, Regina-san learns Menamity, and Aguri-chan learns Mayamity. Both halves of the Princess’ heart become whole again. Regina-san helps save the world, and Aguri-chan learns to make friends. The love for one’s family and the love to protect everyone’s smiles are indeed both love and they are in harmony with one another.

From the trailer we can see that the two fairies who featured so prominently in New Stage 2 are present in this one, as is Cure Ace who was absent from the earlier movie (only the original four Doki Dokis were in it).

You can see Aguri-chan at 0:41 and Cure Ace (making her A-sign) at 0:50 (extreme right, second row from the bottom).